Millick Named Athlete of the Week

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Following her second consecutive all-around victory, and third straight 39.0+ showing, senior gymnast Kaylyn Millick has been named Varsity Sports Report Athlete of the Week.

The Washington, Pa., native was stellar at No. 18 Maryland on Feb. 17, scoring 39.35 and winning the all-around competition. She earned 9.8+ on each event, including a career-best 9.9 on bars for the discipline win. Millick also finished fifth (9.8) on beam, sixth (9.825) on vault and eighth (9.825) on floor.

Millick helped the Mountaineers to a 195.775, second-place showing at UMD. The Terrapins (196.175) won the meet, while both teams defeated Rutgers (195.05). WVU’s score is its best road mark of 2013 and its top point tally in a regular-season road competition since scoring 197.4 at Pitt in 2004.

Women’s Basketball-This Week in Women’s BasketballWVU will travel to Fort Worth, Texas for an 8 p.m., tipoff with TCU on Saturday at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum … WVU leads the all-time series 3-0 against TCU after defeating the Horned Frogs 58-50 in Morgantown earlier this season … fans can listen to the game live on WAJR with Travis Jones on the call.

-Last Week in Women’s BasketballThe Mountaineers went 1-1 last week … WVU suffered a 64-54 loss to No. 25/24 Oklahoma State at home on Tuesday and defeated No. 24/23 Iowa State 68-66 in come-from-behind fashion Sunday … WVU is now 15-10 this season and 7-7 in Big 12 play.

-Notes & QuotesThe Mountaineers only have four regular-season games left, including two in the WVU Coliseum … the Mountaineers snapped a four-game win streak for the Cyclones, handing Iowa State its second home loss this season in front of a crowd of 11,951 … ISU is the third ranked opponent WVU has defeated this season … sophomore Averee Fields and freshman Bria Holmes each led WVU in scoring last week with 21 and 18 points, respectively … junior Christal Caldwell remains WVU’s scoring leader in Big 12 play with 14.6 points per league outing.

Track and Field -This Week in Track and FieldThe West Virginia University track and field team will travel to its first-ever Big 12 Indoor Championships in Ames, Iowa on Feb. 22-23 at the Lied Recreational Center.

-Last Week in Track and FieldThe Mountaineers competed in their last home indoor meet of the season with the Gold-Blue Open … WVU posted multiple first-place finishes with freshman Ashanti Bess taking top honors in the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash.

-Notes & QuotesBess won the 60-meter dash with a personal-best time of 8.09, while she also took second in her first time competing in the 400-meter dash with a personal-best time of 59.84 … senior Sydney Cummings led the way once again in the high jump with a first-place finish and a mark of 1.77 meters … Cummings leap ranks third all-time in WVU’s top-5 in program history … in her first time competing this season, senior Jordan Hamric recorded a first-place showing in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:59.24 … freshman Shannen Daly took first in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:24.41 … in the weight throw, senior Alanna Pritts and sophomore Karissa Knabenshue swept the event by taking the top two spots, respectively … Knabenshue also posted a first-place finish in the shot put for the first time this season with a mark of 11.95 meters.

-Notes & QuotesNathan Pennesi leads WVU with 21 victories this season … this is Pennesi’s third consecutive season with 20-plus victories … Pennesi also leads the team in dual victories (8), wins against ranked opponents (2), tech falls (4) and near fall points (12) … Shane Young, who missed over a month of action due to an ankle injury, leads the team in takedowns, with 18 … Young is second on the team with 10 victories.

Swimming and Diving-This Week in Swimming & DivingBoth teams are idle this week while preparing for the Big 12 Championships in Austin, Texas.

-Last Week in Swimming & DivingBoth teams were idle.

-Notes & QuotesTexas will host the Big 12 Championships for the seventh time in conference history … the event will be held at the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin, and will take place on Feb. 27-March 2 … the championships field will consist of five institutions that sponsor women’s program: Iowa State, Kansas, TCU, Texas and West Virginia, along with three schools that have men’s teams: TCU, Texas and West Virginia … the Longhorns men’s squad has won the Big 12 Championship every year since the conference was formed in 1996, giving Texas 16 titles total … on the women’s side, Texas A&M took home the fourth title in program history last year.

Rifle-This Week in RifleThe No. 1-ranked West Virginia University rifle team will shoot for its fourth straight Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) title on Feb. 23-24, at the Patricia C. Lamar National Guard Readiness Center, in Oxford, Miss.

-Last Week in RifleThe Mountaineers (11-1, 5-1 GARC) shot a 4716 at their NCAA Qualifying match on Feb 17, at the Lt. Hugh W. Wylie Range in Converse Hall, in Columbus, Ohio … WVU shot an NCAA-best 2381 in air rifle … the score is five shots better than the previous Mountaineer record of 2376, shot earlier this season against Ole Miss on Nov. 9 and at UAF on Nov. 17 … WVU shot 2335 in the smallbore relay.

-Notes & QuotesEmily Mathis earned two singles victories during the course of the weekend … Mathis moved her singles record to 4-2 overall this season, which is the high water mark on the team … Mathis also leads the team in combined victories, with eight … along with Mathis, Audrey Wooland is tied for the team lead in doubles victories with four.

Gymnastics-This Week in GymnasticsThe No. 25-ranked Mountaineers return to the WVU Coliseum for a two-week homestand … WVU plays host to No. 3 Michigan, New Hampshire and Towson this Sunday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m., in the first-ever “Wendy M. Roach Invitational” … the invitational is named after former WVU gymnast and current student assistant Nicole Roach’s mother and is a “Pink Meet” to promote breast cancer awareness … all fans are encouraged to wear pink that day.

-Last Week in GymnasticsThe Mountaineers (6-5, 1-1 Big 12) scored their best road score of the season with a 195.775 showing in a second-place finish at No. 18 Maryland’s tri-meet on Feb. 17, at the Comcast Center, in College Park, Md. … the Terrapins tallied 196.175 and finished first, while Rutgers placed third with a 195.05 score … senior Kaylyn Millick won the all-around for the second straight week with a 39.35 showing … she tallied 9.8 or better on all four events, including a first-place finish on bars with a career-best 9.9 mark … junior Hope Sloanhoffer finished fourth overall with a 39.175 score … WVU tallied a season-best 49.225 on vault, 48.575 on bars, 49.0 on beam and 48.975 on floor … senior Alaska Richardson earned a career-best 9.925 on vault and finished first overall … freshman Jaida Lawrence tallied a career-best 9.9 on vault and placed second … junior Amanda Carpenter matched her career-best beam score of 9.825 and placed second … Richardson paced the floor group with a 9.85 showing.

-Notes & QuotesWVU’s score was its best in a regular-season road meet since scoring 197.4 at Pitt in 2004 … both Maryland and Rutgers are former East Atlantic Gymnastics League foes … Sloanhoffer opened the beam rotation with a 9.8 … junior Makenzie Bristol made her season floor debut and scored 9.75 … Sloanhoffer followed a fall on bars with a 9.8 … despite the loss, WVU continues to lead the all-time series with UMD (35-15-1) … the Mountaineers remain perfect (54-0) against RU … WVU falls to 1-5 against ranked opponents this year … WVU is 4-16 vs. Michigan, 26-9 against New Hampshire and 17-10 vs. Towson.

Baseball-This Week in BaseballWVU continues its 10-game road trip this weekend in Winston-Salem, N.C. ... the Mountaineers will play Youngstown State on Friday and Saturday, and Wake Forest on Saturday and Sunday.

-Last Week in BaseballThe Mountaineers opened their season with a three-game series at North Florida … after falling in the first two games, WVU was able to pull away with a 4-3 victory in game three.

-Notes & QuotesWith Sunday’s win, coach Randy Mazey earned his first victory in a WVU uniform … right-hander Dan Dierdorff earned the win on Sunday, allowing two runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings … he also struck out two and forced UNF into three double plays … second baseman Billy Fleming led the Mountaineers at the plate with a 5-for-9 performance in the series, including three runs and one RBI … right fielder Brady Wilson batted 4-for-9 with one run, one triple and three RBIs, while center fielder Bobby Boyd went 5-for-14 with two runs, one double and two stolen bases.